What Does It Take to Succeed?

I’m freshly returned from Vancouver with renewed energy and enthusiasm. A change is as good as a holiday, but a holiday is still the best! 

My mom and I had a great time at the Bakery Showcase in stunning Vancouver. From the Women in Baking Panel, to the Baker’s Association of Canada Dinner Cruise, to visiting, dining and walking with old friends and family, it was a super fun adventure all around. Not to mention the supportive feeling of the baking community who have so much knowledge to share.

I have many learning from the event and I plan to apply them and hopefully build a better and more sustainable business.

Under the pressure of planning for my part on the Women in Baking Panel, I came up with a cool acronym at dinner with my mom and I would like to share it with you.

What does it take to succeed?

My answer:
You have just got to get the K.N.A.C.K. of things and move through the world with flexibility, strength, kindness, a strong desire to communicate effectively, and follow these principles.

K: KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge is power. If you are interested in something, learn everything you can about it, and that passion will take you forward. The saying “energy goes where attention flows” is true!

N: NAVIGATE
Navigate through life, people, and situations. Treat each situation and human uniquely because they are all different. The more you learn to navigate through the flow of each situation and person, the easier success will come. This principle also applies to making bread. 

A: ADAPT PERSEVERE AND OVERCOME
Adaptation is the key to longevity. “Adapt, persevere, and overcome” is a saying I heard from a fellow baker at a Bread Bakers Guild baking class in Rhode Island. I thought it was the best thing I ever heard and my husband was there to hear it too! It has stuck in my brain and I even had it posted to the wall to look at every day. We have lived by that saying ever since that moment. Seeing that saying on my wall got me through the Covid Days that is for sure.

C: COMMUNICATE, COLLABORATE, and CONFIDENCE
THE 3 C’S
Communicate: Be clear and direct as much as possible. Learn to give and take feedback with kindness and grace. Collaborate: Collaboration is the absolute best. We are not alone and if you allow yourself to go on a journey with someone, then they may take you to places you never even dreamed of. Confidence: I suffer from lack of confidence, like a lot of us out there. I started figuring if you fake it till you make it, you might actually get there! Still working on it! Don’t forget to pat yourself on the back as that will increase your own confidence.

K: KICK ASS
Sometimes you have to know when to “Kick Ass” in the nicest way possible. 

Once in a while you need a kick on your own but to get it going and sometimes you need to give someone else a nudge in the kindest way possible. Once you get going, it feels rewarding.
 

I hope to share these principles with the people I work with as they are on a journey with me:)